work with what you have

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Laura Kate

It seems that I located the biggest Post-It note in the world on which to write this to-do list. Please notice the first word for each item on the list. My English teacher would describe these as verbs. Some call them action words. The emphasis is on action – All are things that require active engagement by the doers. I am expecting at least four of those folks to help me check off the items on this list.

I haven’t blogged this past week because I’ve been very busy with Christmas preparations. That includes Christmas knitting. I finished up the arm warmers for daughter – no picture here, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. The half-finished sock you see is intended for my son-in-law. Hey, I’ve got at least four more days to finish this one and knit another. It’s still possible to finish them by Christmas morning.

Here’s my wish for you at holiday time: May you enjoy celebrating with loved ones, or at least in proximity to loved ones. And may your celebrations bring peace and love to warm your heart.

quilting, recycling, sewing

Crazy Out-of-Control Scrap Heap

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Laura Kate

This past summer has been a wonderful time of learning for the fiber artist in me. I have viewed dozens of tutorials, focused primarily on quilting. “Don’t ever throw away your scraps,” is advice that I heard from an art quilter, early in my training. Well, I took her advice, and look where it has got me. I desperately need a system for managing these fabric pieces!

By nature I am not a messy person. I like to make my bed and wash the dishes. When I began my journey with fiber, I organized a space which I believed possessed ample work room and plenty of storage for tools and materials. It was great, as long as I stuck to yarn crafts. But once I ventured into fabric work, things went wonky. (FYI “wonky” is a technical term used by quilters.)

I share my closet with the family’s camping equipment. It also houses the ironing board, a small set of drawers and shelves for my yarn stash. The stash is relatively modest, but it now fills the shelves. My bookcases contain paint, books, tools, my fabric stash and sewing machine. But the scraps have proven recalcitrant. If left tossed in a basket, they are impossible to work with.

So this is my plea: Who of you has solved the Scraps Dilemma, and will you share your solution with me, a frustrated fiber artist?

recycling, sewing, weaving

Fiber Fun at the Lake House

Posted on August 18, 2019 by Laura Kate

While I and my family were soaking up the sun and splashing in the water at the Lake House, my daughter proposed that we work on a fiber project together. The family lake house, which was built in the 1950s, contains random pieces of furniture and what nots from several decades. The object of attention is a floor lamp with a silk shade that had disintegrated completely. Used in its present condition, the unshaded light got into everyone’s eyes. She thought we could solve this problem.

Of course, the Lake House Challenge is to make it work with limited materials and tools. After a bit of brainstorming, during which we rejected piecing panels together and shirring or gathering fabric, we came up with a weaving concept. We had on hand a few bed sheets and a ball of cotton blend yarn.

**Yarn is left over from the Luna Moth baby dress project.**

Fortunately, Daughter had brought her sewing machine.

I took on the task of warping the yarn over the lamp shade frame and she hemmed and turned the strips of white sheet. They were about 2 inches wide. We thought we would need six rounds. Here is the shade with the warp in place and the first round of weft weaving.

It took a few days because it was possible to work only while the baby was sleeping. She sewed together the two ends of each strip and trimmed up the yarn.